Philippine E-Journals

“There is Always Chaos in Our Family”: From the Inner Voices of Iranun Children in a Polygamous Marriage

Vanessa Macabangon

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of children in a polygamous marriage. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions: What are the lived experiences of children in a polygamous marriage in dealing with all the family members? What are the challenges met by children in a polygamous family and their coping strategies to maintain good family relationship? What are the viewpoints of the conversational partners on their lived experiences as children in a polygamous marriage? This study used the Husserlian descriptive phenomenology to describe the lived experiences of Iranun children in a polygamous marriage, their way of coping through challenges, their relationship to their father, mother, other wives of their father, siblings and their views on the practice of polygamy in today’s generation. The participants of the study were twenty Iranun children in a polygamous family who described their lived experiences in dealing with all family members, the challenges they met, their coping strategies to maintain good family relationship and their viewpoints of polygamy in today’s generation.